Celebrating International Volunteers Day: The Heart of the ASRC

Each year on International Volunteers Day, we pause to honour the extraordinary people who make the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre a place of dignity, hope and welcome. Our volunteers bring compassion to life – greeting people with warmth, serving meals with care, offering specialised skills and showing up, day after day, to stand with refugees and people seeking asylum. Their generosity strengthens our community and ensures that no one is left to face injustice alone.

Across every program – from legal and health services to Community Meals, English classes, social enterprises and administration – volunteers bring warmth, skill and solidarity. Their presence offers comfort on difficult days and sparks hope where it’s needed most.

This year, we’re proud to share some of the words volunteers offered when asked why they choose to give their time to the ASRC:

“Being in a place like the ASRC, surrounded by like – minded people who are all connected by a single purpose/vision, is just amazing.”

“I researched volunteer cooking opportunities in Melbourne and felt most drawn to the ASRC because of the incredible work they do.

“ASRC is a hope for asylum seekers, and I think hope is everything.”

“We do it for the feeling that it leaves in your heart. I feel good about myself too when I can help others.”

“I undertake real casework in this role and feel that I make a contribution to the Australian community.”

These words capture the heart of the ASRC – a place shaped not only by the services we provide, but by the people who show up with empathy and determination.

Volunteering here is more than an act of service; it is an act of solidarity. It is a commitment to fairness, dignity and welcome, lived out one interaction at a time.

To every volunteer – thank you. Your generosity and humanity ensure that people seeking asylum never face hardship alone. On International Volunteers Day, and every day, we honour the incredible impact you make.

Today, and every day, we celebrate you.

If you’d like to volunteer with ASRC you can find out more information here.